The CureCervicalCancer Team

Patricia Gordon MD (Harvard ’78, UCLA School of Medicine ’82, Cedars-Sinai Internship ’84) was a radiation oncologist for 27 years. For many years she was a partner at Beverly Hills Radiation Oncology, and served on the medical team at Beverly Hills Cancer Center.

Her commitment to saving women’s lives in the developing world has brought her to an additional career as a non-profit leader and international women’s health advocate. In 2021, she was nominated as a Top 10 CNN Hero of the year for her efforts to fight the global epidemic of cervical cancer. Using the “See and Treat” method, she founded CureCervicalCancer, which trains local healthcare professionals to screen and treat women for cervical precancer. The organization has established 106 sustainable and ongoing CureCervicalCancer clinics in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Haiti, Guatemala, Vietnam, and training programs in rural China – where help is needed most.

“Cervical cancer is the leading cause of death in countries where Pap smears are virtually nonexistent. We have a global epidemic: upwards of 300,000 women die every year from a nearly 100% preventable disease. Ninety-five percent of these women are in resource-poor countries living in extreme poverty. It was for these vulnerable women that I decided to act. I maintain fervently I cannot see the world and remain indifferent to it.”

The World Health Organization endorses a technique known as “See & Treat” for the detection and treatment of cervical cancer. It takes less than 15 minutes and it has nearly a 100 percent success rate. With this knowledge, she took this procedure into some of the most resource-poor areas of the world.  Her first stops were in Senegal and the northern region of Ethiopia. Since those two fateful trips, Dr. Gordon and her team have industrialized this procedure.

When the CCC team establishes a clinic, the equipment and locally trained professionals remain in place to continue the fight against cervical cancer for years to come. Our sustainable “Clinic in a Suitcase” model requires monthly reporting to measure outcomes, target successes, and assess where help is needed most. Dr. Gordon is committed to leading CureCervicalCancer into the future, and she has dedicated her life to overcoming this tragic and needless epidemic.

Judy Carmel brings over forty years of experience in business development as well as philanthropy to CureCervicalCancer, with a vast knowledge in finance. Her expertise is invaluable to CCC as she is part of the daily discussions at the CCC office. Her work with philanthropy is dear to her heart and taken very seriously. She is involved with many non-profit organizations and is a vital component of their operations.

“I am looking forward to being part of the team in Vietnam where I will see one of my clinics and CCC in action. This will help me in my future fundraising endeavors for the organization.”

Judy Laner brings to CCC six years of volunteer service work in Africa through Free the Children and the Knock Foundation. Her experiences include building schools, working in orphanages, and fundraising and building her own schoolhouse back in 2008. Judy joined forces with CCC in April 2013 in Ethiopia. While there, she took on the tasks of organizing the incoming patients and recording the data of the see and treat findings. Since then, she has joined CCC on numerous programs. She worked tirelessly while in Guatemala in September 2013 and Kenya in April 2014. She will also be busy with patient data on our upcoming trip to Vietnam in December 2014.

“What jazzes me the most about these trips are that I can really help people.  I learned how little it takes to make a huge difference in  someone’s life over in these remote locations.  I also really am fascinated about other cultures.  I feel that while I am helping them, they are teaching me as well.  I am constantly learning and taking something positive from the experience to apply to my own life.  I also feel that our basic needs are all the same no matter where you live.  People want to be healthy so that they can live their lives.  CCC is helping people to do just that and I am honored to be a part of it.”

While not traveling the globe, Judy resides in Chicago with her new husband and blended family of 6 grown kids and attends Harper College to finish her Interior Design degree.

Ben is the managing partner at Twenty40 Ventures. Prior to launching Twenty40 Ventures, Ben ran digital rights management at Collab. Ben has also worked in the television department at Creative Artists Agency

A licensed real estate sales agent since 2016, he has acquired and flipped multiple single-family and multi-family homes in the midwest and south. Outside of work, Ben is a board member on the Leonard Hill Charitable Trust. Ben is also a licensed pilot and holds multiple airmen certificates. Ben received an MBA in Real Estate Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and BA in Political Science and Integrated Liberal Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rebecca is the Executive Director of CureCervicalCancer. She is a registered nurse specializing in women’s health. She brings over 10 years of combined clinical and professional experience working in the healthcare and humanitarian sectors. Prior to joining CureCervicalCancer, she provided direct patient care as a labor and delivery nurse. She also spent several years working as a case manager for persons living without homes, survivors of domestic violence, immigrants and refugees. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Her passion is to increase access to quality healthcare for underserved women globally.

McKenna graduated from Cornell University in 2020 with a B.S. in Human Biology, Health and Society. During her undergraduate years, she had the opportunity to study maternal and child health in communities throughout India, South Africa, and Brazil. Her time abroad allowed her to see first-hand how women’s health initiatives operate in resource-poor settings, which solidified her passion for working to improve women’s healthcare globally. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to apply her experience to furthering CCC’s mission of bringing care to vulnerable women around the world.

Julianne Lewis is a passionate well-being ambassador with a strong foundation in communication, community-building, and social justice advocacy. With both an MPH in Global Health and a B.A. in Health and Human Sciences from the University of Southern California, she brings over 8 years of volunteer experience at organizations like Planned Parenthood and the Global Women’s Narratives Project, highlighting her commitment to social causes. Julianne excels in outreach, leadership, and problem resolution, and her proficiency in various skills, including data collection and storytelling, sets her apart. Her diverse experiences, from the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights to leading USC’s student health social media engagement efforts, demonstrate her dedication to making a positive impact. Julianne is enthusiastic about contributing her talents to organizations like CureCervicalCancer, aligning perfectly with her passion for amplifying voices and facilitating equitable access to healthcare.

Samson has over 5 years experience in Global Health having served in different Program management, administration and coordination capacities in the Oncology and Haematology space in Kenya focusing on screening, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship programs for Cervical Cancer, Breast Cancer, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, Lung cancer, Sickle Cell and Haemophilia. He has passion for community-based programs aimed at enhancing access and linkages to clinical care and research. He firmly believes in organizations developing strategic partnerships and collaborations like local governments, NGOs to leverage on each other’s strengths to deliver optimal cancer control initiatives to the underserved populations in the world. He holds a BA in Business Management and program Management, with great passion to improving maternal health in Sub Saharan Africa as women are the pillars of the communities.